Inking system for automatic marking machines



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INKING SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATIC MARKING MACHINES Filed NOV. 15, 1952 2Sheets-Sheet 2 g OtINWVEYVTORS;

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ATTORNEYS United States Patent INKING SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATIC MARIGNGMACHINES Frederic L. Rieger, Dayton, and Raymond M. Slade, Tipp :City,Ohio, assignors to The Monarch Marking System Company, Dayton, Ohio, acorporation of Ohio Application November 15, 1952, Serial No. 320,768

3 Claims. (Cl. 101-301) This invention relates to automatic markingmachines in which type is employed for printing prices and other indiciaon tags, tickets and labels. More particularly, the invention isdirected to a new method. and means for inking the type employed inthese machines. Heretofore, ribbon devices have been used for thispurpose. It is the broad objective of the present invention to provide abetter, longer lasting, and more economical means.

It has been found that a ribbon of good quality can be used to printbetween sixty and sixty-five thousand tags efore the impressions becomeso light that they are difficult to read. By contrast, the inking meansor system of the present invention has been tested in a run ofapproximately one million tags and the impression on the last tag of therun found to be sharp and clear, comparing favorably with tags printedby a new ribbon. Thus, the absolute upper limit of the number of tagswhich can be printed by the present inking system has not beendetermined to date.

The experimental run referred to was made over a period of severalmonths, the machine being run intermittently during that time toapproximate marking room conditions. Toward the latter part of the runit was found that the tags printed at the start of a day wereappreciably darker than those printed at the end of the previous day.That is, the system rejuvenated itself overnight while it was not beingused. This phenomenon, of the system rejuvenating itself with rest,should be even more apparent in prolonged marking room use, because insuch use there are frequent intervals when a machine is shut down forseveral days at a time.

Collaterally with the broad objective set forth, it is also an objectiveof the invention to provide a new inking system for automatic markingmachines which is adapted to be installed in a majority of the presentlyexisting machines in place of ribbon inking devices without thenecessity of making substantial changes in the design or disposition ofthe machine parts.

The operation of modern marking machines is cyclic in nature and followssubstantially the same general pattern. Tags, tickets or labels in stripform are fed across a table or a guideway to a printing station wherethey are impressed by type which is carried in a reciprocating printinghead or the equivalent. In some machines the tags etc., are. impressedthrough a ribbon, that is, it is the ribbon which actually contacts thetag. In others, a ribbon is used to carry ink to the type, and it is thetype itself which makes contact with the tag. The latter method resultsin cleaner, sharper markings. Where a ribbon is interposed between typeand tag, the texture print of the ribbon material is noticeable and theprint outlines are fuzzy. The direct method is utilized in the presentsystem.

The movement through the machine is an intermittent one in which thestrip is advanced a tag, ticket or label unit at a time to the printingstation. The means used for advancing the strip usually comprises feedfingers or their equivalent having a reciprocating motion which takes2,756,674 Patented July 31, 1956 place in timed sequence relative to thereciprocating movement of the printing head. In those machines in whicha ribbon is used to carry ink to the type, the ribbon mechanism mayoperate simultaneously with the strip feed means, being moved into typeinking position by the same drive means. If this is not done, thenauxiliary means are employed for moving the ribbon into and out ofinking relationship with the type. In those machines printing throughthe ribbon, there is no need to have the ribbon reciprocate back andforth between two positions. However, there are cyclically operatingparts with which the elements of the present invention may beassociated. Generally speaking, the elements may be associatedrespectively with the printing head and the feed fingers; the printinghead and another reciprocating part adjacent the printing head; or eachelement may be associated with any of the parts adjacent the printingstation which move in timed sequence with the printing head. Of course,special mounts and drive linkage may be utilized. But, in any event,elaborate engineering changes in a majority of the present machines arenot necessary to accommodate the elements of the system.

Only two elements are required, and it is preferred that they beprovided and installed as a set. One of the elements comprises areservoir assembly which holds a substantial supply of ink. In thepreferred embodiment, the reservoir itself is constituted by arectangular block of ordinary felt. The other element comprises atransfer pad which is designed tobe mounted so that it reciprocatesbetween the reservoir and the type, taking ink from the reservoir anddepositing it on the type. Both the reservoir and the transfer pad arecharged initially with an ink supply. The transfer pad may comprise feltor other absorbent material which is covered with fine texture cloth,however, it is preferred that it be made of microporous rubber.Preferably, both elements of the system are provided in cartridge form.Snap-in mounting means are provided for both of the cartridges so thatthey may be installed and removed easily. The respective mounting meansare arranged so that the transfer pad contacts the underside of thereservoir and removes ink from its lower surface. There is thus agradual decrease in the amount of ink in the reservoir. The pad on theother hand is resupplied from the reservoir after each contact with thetype, and therefore, its supply of ink remains substantially constantuntil the reservoir supply is exhausted. This insures unchangingconditions in the ink supply directly available to the type oversubstantially the entire useful life of a set of elements. In otherwords, a gradually decreasing supply of ink in the system is notreflected in the amount of ink that is available to the type until thelarge quantity in the reservoir is substantially exhausted. Thus, theoperator of a 'machine is insured that the tags printed in a machinefrom day to day over an unusually long period are substantiallyidentical in appearance; whereas in the past, where a ribbon system wasemployed, the print gradually became lighter during the comparativelyshort life of the ribbon.

In a, majority of installations, the reservoir element can be fastenedto the side of the printing head, and the transfer pad associated with,or at least tied-in with the movement of, the strip advance means. Sincethe strip advance means must operate at a time when the printing head isclear of the strip, the transfer pad can, therefore, move under the headto ink the type simultaneously with the movement of a new tag into itsposition under the head. By the same token, when the strip advance meansretract to pick up the next tag, the transfer'pad can move with it outfrom under the printing head to a position under the reservoir at theside of the head for anew paratively small elements which are simple indesign and construction. A ribbon inking device, by way of contrast,requires special indexing mechanism to feed fresh sections of the ribboninto position for contact with the type. The ribbon and its indexingmechanism take up a considerable amount of space at the most crowdedpoint in a machine. From the view point of simplicity in machine design,therefore, the present system is more compact than ribbon devices.

It is preferred that the cartridges be supplied to the user with the inksupply already in them and that both of the cartridges be thrown awaywhen the reservoir is exhausted. The two elements are adapted to bemanufactured so economically that it is practical, particularly in viewof their long life, to simply replace them with new ones. There areother reasons however. Proper re-inking is an exacting task. Thedifference between too little and too much is a surprisingly smallamount. With ribbon systems it has been found that the tendency is toover-ink. This can be a costly mistake because of the possibility ofexcessive ink on a ticket offset printing onto merchandise. Then too,the ink bottles themselves are a hazard in a marking room. In fact, anumber of large department stores have made a set rule against re-inkingand require that ribbons be replaced rather than run the risk of havingink bottles in their marking rooms. However, even with such a rule, itis impossible for an operator to change a ribbon without getting someink on his fingers, which means a delay While he washes his hands sothat it is safe for him to handle garments or other merchandise again.The manufacturer or supplier is in a far better position than a machineoperator to know the correct amount of ink to use in charging thecartridges initially. The amount, of course, depends upon the size ofthe cartridges and the types of materials chosen, but can be quicklyarrived at by experimentation.

The combination of supplying disposable cartridges which are alreadycharged with ink and adapted to be snapped into place in the machinemeans that they can be replaced by an operator quickly, easily andwithout touching an inked surface. The ease with which the cartridgesare adapted to be replaced makes it feasible for department stores tomake frequent changes in the color of the ink being used in theirmachines. For one thing, different price ranges can be indicated indifierent colors of ink. Also periodic changes in ink color may be usedto assist in inventory control. In addition, appropriate colors may beselected for seasonal sales, and different colored inks used fordifferent departments throughout the store.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art from the following detailed description of thedrawings, in which:

Figures 1-3 show progressive positions of a printing arm and head,including the driving means, of a typical automatic price markingmachine incorporating the inking system of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken on the line 4-4 ofFigure 2.

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of an inking reservoir cartridge and amounting bracket.

Figure 7 is a perspective view similar to Figure 6 showing the cartridgemounted on the bracket.

Figure 8 is a perspective view showing a transfer pad and transfer padcarrier.

Figure 9 is a perspective view similar to Figure 8 showing the transferpad in place in the carrier.

Figure 10 is a cross sectional view of a modified form of the inkingreservoir.

Figure 11 is a cross sectional view of a modified form of the transferpad.

4 Installation in general Figures 1 through 3 show a portion only of anautomatic marking machine in which the inking system of this inventionis adapted to be installed. For a more complete disclosure of a machineof this type see U. S. i atent No. 1,971,963. The portion of the machineshown is intended to be representative only of automatic marking machineconstructions in general. It is believed that the adaptation of thepresent system to other marking machines will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art.

Generally speaking, automatic marking machines operate cyclically, witheach cycle simply being a repetition of the one preceding it. Usuallyeach cycle involves the feeding of a tag to a printing head, the actualprinting of the tag, and then the discharge of the tag. The printingfaces of the type can be inked at any time that they are not impressinga tag. For the most part, it has been found expedient to ink the type atthe same time in the cycle that a new tag is being fed into printingposition. This is done in the machine disclosed in U. S. Patent No.2,310,179; however, the type is inked by a ribbon mechanism in thedisclosure. As will be seen from a study of this patent, the ribbonrequires rather complex indexing mechanism to insure that a freshsurface is being constantly fed to the type. The disclosure of thispatent is an example of the sort of ribbon inking system that thepresent system is intended to replace.

Specifically, the portion of the marking machine shown in Figures 1-3includes a printing arm 10, arm driving means 11 and a printing head 12.The head has a type chase 13 slidably mounted therein and mounts aswinging latch 14 for locking chase 13 in place. In the instance shown,both the printing arm and printing head are pivotally mounted on a shaft15 which is journaled in the bed of the machine, a portion only of whichis indicated at 16. The common pivot at shaft 15 is provided so that theprinting head may be made adjustable relative to the arm 10. This isdone in order to provide means for varying the impression made by thetype. The means employed comprise a set screw 17 and a lock device 13.

The head is driven through arm 16 by means of a cam 19 keyed to a driveshaft 20 which is located inside the machine. A cam roller 21 at thelower end of the printing arm 16 is designed to ride in a cam track 22.As will be seen from the shape of cam track 22, the printing head lowerstwice during each cycle of the machine; the first time at point 23 incam track 22 Where it descends a slight amount for inking purposes andagain at point 24 where it descends all of the way for impressing a tag,one of which is indicated diagrammatically only at 25.

In the machine shown, it is found expedient to mount an ink reservoirassembly 26, which constitutes one part of the present system, directlyupon printing arm 10. It is also found expedient to tie-in directly themovement of an ink transfer pad assembly 27, constituting the secondpart of the present system, with the movement of the printing head. Thisis done by providing a second cam track 28 on cam 19 in the faceopposite cam track 22. A cam roller 29 rides in the second cam track.This roller is journaled at the side of a swinging lever 30 which ispivotally journaled at its lower end in a bracket 31 mounted upon thebase of the machine, a portion of which only is shown at 32. The upperend of swinging lever 3th is forked at 33 and engages a pin 34. This pinis secured to a transfer pad carriage 35 which is slidably mounted in aguideway (not shown) formed in the frame of the machine. The cam track28 is designed to move the transfer pad carriage between the positionshown in Figure 2 and the position shown in Figure 3. In the firstposition, the transfer pad is below the ink reservoir assembly 26 sothat the two contact one another during that portion of the operatingcycle when tag 25 is being impressed. In the latter position the pad isbeneath the type chase so that when the printing head lowers slightly,as a result of cam roller 21 being at point 23 in the cam track, contactis made between the pad and type. Thus, in each cycle the ink supply onthe pad is replenished at the reservoir 26 and a fresh film of inkdeposited upon the type.

In substance, the elements of the present system are adapted for use inany automatic marking machine having cyclically operating reciprocatingparts such as the printing head of the machine shown in the drawings.Therefore, it will be seen that the system is not limited in use to amachine designed especially for it, but may be installed in existingmachines to replace ribbon mechanisms. The only practical limitationsarise through the need for synchronizing the movement of the transferpad with the movement of the printing head. In some machines, forexample the one disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 2,313,347, the transferpad is adapted to be associated with the feed finger mechanism, andarranged so that it moves into type inking position each time a new tagis fed into printing position. The reservoir cartridge assembly 2;6under these circumstances is placed upon the printing head, but at theside adjacent the feed finger mechanism.

Ink reservoir It is preferred that the ink reservoir be provided indisposable cartridge form for several reasons. From a cost standpoint,the inexpensive construction of the reservoir cartridge and itsexceedingly long life make disposal of exhausted cartridges economicallypractical. In addition, it is believed that the manufacture is in abetter position than a machine operator to know the optimum amount ofink that should be used in charging a cartridge. The disposablecartridge feature of the system also does away with the need for havingbottles of ink in a marking room where they are likely to be tipped overand ruin merchandise. Then too, the cartridge, being small, may bereadily packed in an air tight container so that the ink will remainfresh until ready for use. I The ink cartridge disclosed in the drawingscomprises an inverted, rectangular cup 36 in which a block of felt 37 issecured by adhesive. The lower face of the felt block 37 dependsslightly below the lower rim of the cup where it may be contacted by theink pad of assembly 27. The felt block may be covered by silk or othermaterial of a type which is not likely to produce lint. This materialmay be similar to that used for making inking ribbons. An example of acovering of this nature is shown in Figure of the drawings, beingindicated by the numeral 38.

A U shaped strap 39 is secured to the cup 36. The strap includes a pairof side walls 4040 which are spot welded to the opposite side walls ofcup 36 and a top wall 41, which defines with the top of cup 36, a slotfor receiving a horizontal leg 4-2 of a mounting bracket which isindicated generally at 43. In the present instance, the leg 42 of thebracket has a hole 44 in it near its outer end. Hole 44 is designed toreceive a dimple 45, which is formed within the upper wall 41of thestrap portion of the ink cartridge, in snap-fit relation to providedetent means for holding the cartridge onto the bracket. In the instanceshown in Figures l-3, the bracket has a vertical leg 46 which is boltedto the side of printing arm 10. In price marking machines of differentdesign, the mounting bracket construction may have to be altered inorder to adapt it to a particular mount.

lnking pad The preferred material for the pad is micro-porous rubber ofthe type disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 2,353,877. The reasons for thepreference will be pointed out below under the sub-beading Materials andOperation. The pad is rather shallow and rectangular in outline beingslightly wider and longer than the felt block 37. The

pad is cemented into a thin metal tray 47, which isin the nature of ashallow box having side walls 4848 and end walls 49-49. The forward endwall includes an extension 50 which provides means for handling the traywhen it is being installed or changed. The handle shown is formed bybending the extension of the forward end wall back over the rubber pad,then curving it upwardly and forwardly. At the back of the pad, anextension of the end wall is bent at a right angle over the edge of thepad. The four corners of the tray are not fastened, this being foundunnecessary. The pad and tray are mounted as an assembly within abox-like carrier 51 which may be welded or otherwise fastened to thecarriage member 35. The rear wall of carrier 51 has a flange 52 alongits upper edge which is turned forwardly at approximately degrees. Theupper edge of the front wall of the carrier includes a lip, indicated at53, which is bent inwardly at approximately 45 degrees. The flange 52 atthe rear of the carrier is designed to overhang the rear edge of the padtray, whereas the lip 53 is designed to engage the forward end wall ofthe pad tray below handle 50 in snap-fit relation to lock the tray inplace within the carrier. To remove the tray, the handle 50 is sprungrearwardly to release the front end wall from lip 5.3.

Materials and operation As long as a cover of the type shown in Figure10 at 38 is utilized for the ink reservoir cartridge the quality of thefelt utilized for the block 37 is unimportant. It is found that thecheapest felt may be used, for example, that which is employed forpadding shipping cartons. The ink capacity of the block is the moreimportant factor, the material from which it is made is of secondaryimportance, it being anticipated that materials other than felt may beemployed in the system. The material used for the ink transfer pad onthe other hand is important, the microporous rubber mentioned abovebeing preferred.

This material has been used by itself as a printing plate (U. S. PatentNo. 2,427,765). In this use the ink is fed into the pad from the backand migrates to the face of the pad by capillary action. The feeding ofthe ink to the face of the pad-by this method is too slow, however, tobe practical in an automatic marking machine which often runs at a speedof approximately impressions per minute. In the present system, themicro-porous pad is charged with ink before it is installed. It issuggested that the pad be charged by the manufacturer like in the caseof the reservoir and the two provided as a disposable unit. The amountof ink required in the pad is less than that which would cause the padto become saturated. The exact amount can be determined easily by simpleexperimentation.

If desired, a difierent type of pad, for example one made of felt andcovered with silk, may be employed but the results obtained are notnearly as satisfactory as with the micro-porous rubber pad. For onething, there is a tendency for the type characters to pick up the threadpattern of the cloth cover and impress it upon tags. This isparticularly noticeable when the ink supply is running low. When largetype characters are being used, the thread pattern is not particularlyobjectionable; but, when small type is employed, 4 to 6 point forexample, the thread pattern becomes obvious and makes reading of thefine print diflicult.

The ink film applied to the type by a micro-porous rubber pad is evenand no texture pattern can be seen on the type. This is primarily aresult of the surface characteristics of the material. The holes orsurface indentations on the face of a pad of micro-porous rubber are sotiny that they do not cause a break in the film of ink. Also, thereseems to be a migration of ink on the surface of the pad due to theslight squeezing action which results from the type hitting the padrepeatedly. The surface tension of the ink may also contribute to theevenness of the film on the pad. In any event, texture patterns are notfound on tags printed with type inked by an almost dry micro-porousrubber pad. Even though the surface of the reservoir block isexceedingly rough and should thereby cause a texture pattern of ink tobe deposited on the pad, such pattern is not transferred to the type,possibly due to the noted migration of the ink within and on the surfaceof the pad. Oddly enough, the performance of a micro-porous rubber padis improved by covering it with thin ribbon material (see Figure 11) andthe texture pattern referred to above in connection with a felt pad doesnot appear as long as the pad has an adequate supply of ink.

The ink within the reservoir block is always removed from the bottomWhere it naturally tends to migrate. On the other hand, ink is removedfrom the top of the transfer pad, but only after it receives a new film.As a practical matter, the amount of ink within the pad tends to remainsubstantially constant and dispersed evenly throughout the pad, that is,it does not tend to migrate to the bottom like it does in the feltblock. Thus, the operation of the system in its simplest form is one ofreplenishing a surface supply on the transfer pad after each contactbetween the pad and type. In other words, the ink that it removed fromthe top of the pad is replaced at the top so that the supply availableto the type is always constant.

A micro-porous pad used alone, that is without the reservoir, which ischarged with an initial supply of ink will operate for printing asurprising number of tags in a slow run, but the darkness of theimpressions on the tags decreases rapidly and varies in intensity overthe run. The reservoir cartridge, of course, holds a much greater amountof ink than is possible to place in the pad. The useful life of the twotogether is increased accordingly and the amount of ink supplied to thetype does not vary in a fast run.

Neither the pad nor the reservoir need be filled with ink to theabsolute saturation point when they are charged initially. Perhaps thepercentage of ink in both the reservoir and pad decrease together in thelatter part of the useful life of the two, but up to a certain point, atleast, the reservoir ink supply only is used and thus it decreases whilethe ink supply remains substantially constant in the pad. This isundoubtedly the result of the tendency for the ink in the felt blockreservoir to migrate toward the bottom surface while the ink in themicroporous pad tends to remain in evenly dispersed condinon.

There are certain relationships which should be maintained in installingthe system in a marking machine. The cycle of the reciprocating memberwhich carries the inking pad should be such that the pad does not remainin contact with either the reservoir or the type for more than aninstant. dwell during either pad contact. The contact between pad andreservoir should be light, so as to not squeeze ink out of the feltblock; that is, the ink should be lifted otl-not forced out. Also, thepad and block should meet squarely so that there is even contact betweenthe respective surfaces. The same is true when the pad con- In otherwords, there should be no tacts the type. The transfer of the ink filmfrom the pad 1. The method of inking the type in an automatic markingmachine comprising bringing an ink absorbent pad having a supply of inktherein into momentary facial contact with the lower surface of an inkabsorbent block having a supply of ink therein, thereby depositing afilm of ink upon the surface of said pad, and moving said pad from saidblock and into momentary facial contact with the face of said typethereby depositing said film on said type.

2. A method of inking the type in an automatic marking machinecomprising the successive steps of bringing a pad of micro-porous rubberhaving a supply of ink therein into momentary facial contact with thelower surface of a block of ink absorbent material having asubstantially greater supply of ink therein, thereby deposit ing a filmof ink upon the upper surface of said pad, moving said pad from saidblock and bringing the upper face of said pad into momentary facialcontact with the face of said type, whereby said film of ink istransferred to said type.

3. In an automatic marking machine having a drive shaft which operatescyclically, a printing head carrying type, and means operativelyconnecting the printing head to the drive shaft, means for inking thetype comprising an ink reservoir assembly including a block of inkabsorbent material having a flat face, said block being capable ofholding a substantial supply of ink and being mounted on the printinghead with a fiat face of the block presented downwardly, an ink transferpad, said ink transfer pad being substantially thinner than the blockand being capable of holding a lesser supply of ink, a reciprocablymounted carriage, said transfer pad mounted upon said carriage andpresenting a flat face upwardly, cam means operatively connecting saiddrive shaft to said carriage to reciprocate said carriage in timedsequence with respect to the operation of the printing head for movingsaid transfer pad between a position in which it makes light momentaryfacial Contact with the underside of said reservoir to renew the inksupply on the surface thereof and a position in which it makes lightmomentary facial contact with the underside of the type carried in saidprinting head to deposit ink thereon.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATEl TS763,873 Fox June 28, 1904 1,987,802 Ryan Jan. 15, 1935 2,310,179 KohnleFeb. 2, 1943 2,427,765 Chollar Sept. 23, 1947 2,562,627 McKay July 31,1951 2,584,908 Oblinger Feb. 5, 1952 2,689,525 Anker et al. Sept. 21,1954

